BAFTA announces the best games of 2023

BAFTA released its list of the 60 best games of 2023, selected by over 1,200 BAFTA members, experienced games professionals from across the global industry. The list is the ‘longlist’ for the 2024 BAFTA Games Awards, the industry’s most prestigious awards that celebrate the best games of the year and the people who make them.

Jane Millichip, BAFTA CEO, said: “For 20 years, BAFTA has celebrated great talent in the games industry with the annual BAFTA Games Awards. This year, we hope to amplify that celebration by publishing our Best Games of 2023 list – the longlist for next year’s Awards, as voted for by games industry professionals – just in time to inspire some festive gameplay.”

257 games were entered for consideration by BAFTA members this year, which were all released between 10 December 2022 and 24 November 2023. 60 games are now the running for at least one BAFTA nomination across 17 competitive categories. BAFTA members will begin voting to decide the nominations in the Best Game and British Game categories in January 2024. BAFTA juries will decide the nominations in the other 15 categories. The nominations will be announced on Thursday 7 March 2024. Following the nominations, BAFTA’s games members will vote for the winners in Best Game and British Game, and juries will vote for the winners in the other categories.

The winners will be announced at the 2024 BAFTA Games Awards on Thursday 11 April. BAFTA’s annual Awards is one of the biggest events in the international games calendar, attended by the industry and reaching an audience of millions online.

The 60 best games of the year (longlist), in alphabetical order:

• Alan Wake 2 (Animation, Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Best Game, Game Design, Music, Narrative, Technical Achievement, Performer in a Leading Role, Performer in a Supporting Role)
• Assassin’s Creed Mirage (Animation, Audio Achievement, Music)
• Atomic Heart (Debut Game)
• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Animation, Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Best Game, Game Design, Multiplayer, Music, Narrative, Technical Achievement, Performer in a Leading Role, Performer in a Supporting Role)
• Battlefield 2042 (Evolving Game)
• Bluey: The Videogame (Family)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (Audio Achievement, Multiplayer, Technical Achievement)
• Cassette Beasts (British Game)
• Chants of Sennaar (Game Beyond Entertainment, New Intellectual Property)
• COCOON (Artistic Achievement, Best Game, Debut Game, Family, Game Design, New Intellectual Property)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (Evolving Game, Performer in a Supporting Role)
• DAVE THE DIVER (Best Game, Debut Game, Family, Game Design, Narrative, New Intellectual Property)
• Dead Island 2 (British Game)
• Deliver Us Mars (Game Beyond Entertainment)
• Diablo IV (Artistic Achievement, Multiplayer, Music, Narrative)
• Disney Illusion Island (British Game, Family, Multiplayer)
• DREDGE (Best Game, Debut Game, Game Design, Narrative, New Intellectual Property)
• EA SPORTS FC 24 (Family, Multiplayer)
• EA SPORTS WRC (British Game)
• En Garde! (Debut Game)
• F1 23 (British Game)
• Final Fantasy XIV: Online (Evolving Game)
• FINAL FANTASY XVI (Animation, Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Music, Narrative, Technical Achievement, Performer in a Leading Role, Performer in a Supporting Role)
• Football Manager 2024 (British Game)
• Fortnite (Evolving Game)
• Forza Horizon 5 (Evolving Game)
• Forza Motorsport (Multiplayer)
• Genshin Impact (Evolving Game)
• Goodbye Volcano High (Game Beyond Entertainment)
• Hi-Fi RUSH (Animation, Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Family, Music, New Intellectual Property)
• Hogwarts Legacy (Animation, Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Best Game, Family, Game Design, Music, Narrative, Technical Achievement)
• Horizon Call of the Mountain (Technical Achievement)
• Jusant (Game Beyond Entertainment, New Intellectual Property)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Animation, Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Best Game, Game Design, Music, Narrative, Technical Achievement)
• LEGO 2K Drive (Family, Multiplayer)
• Lies of P (New Intellectual Property)
• Lords of the Fallen (Debut Game)
• The Making of Karateka (Game Beyond Entertainment)
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Evolving Game)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Animation, Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Best Game, Game Design, Music, Technical Achievement, Performer in a Leading Role, Performer in a Supporting Role)
• Mortal Kombat 1 (Multiplayer)
• No Man’s Sky (Evolving Game)
• Party Animals (Multiplayer)
• Planet of Lana (Debut Game)
• POWERWASH SIMULATOR (Evolving Game)
• Sea of Stars (New Intellectual Property)
• Sea of Thieves (Evolving Game)
• Sonic Superstars (Family)
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Animation, Audio Achievement, Best Game, Music, Narrative, Performer in a Leading Role, Performer in a Supporting Role)
• Starfield (Narrative, New Intellectual Property, Technical Achievement)
• Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Debut Game)
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Animation, Artistic Achievement, Best Game, Family, Game Design, Multiplayer)
• Tchia (Game Beyond Entertainment)
• Terra Nil (Game Beyond Entertainment)
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (British Game)
• Thirsty Suitors (Game Beyond Entertainment)
• Tron: Identity (British Game)
• Venba (Debut Game, Game Beyond Entertainment)
• Viewfinder (British Game, Debut Game, Game Beyond Entertainment, Game Design, New Intellectual Property, Technical Achievement)
• Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin (British Game)

The 60 best games of the year (longlist), in order of no. of times longlisted:

Baldur’s Gate 3 (15)
Alan Wake 2 (14)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (10)
Hogwarts Legacy (9)
FINAL FANTASY XVI (8)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (8)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (7)
COCOON (6)
DAVE THE DIVER (6)
Hi-Fi RUSH (6)
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (6)
Viewfinder (6)
DREDGE (5)
Diablo IV (4)
Assassin’s Creed Mirage (3)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (3)
Disney Illusion Island (3)
Starfield (3)
Chants of Sennaar (2)
Cyberpunk 2077 (2)
EA SPORTS FC 24 (2)
Jusant (2)
LEGO 2K Drive (2)
Venba (2)
Atomic Heart (1)
Battlefield 2042 (1)
Bluey: The Videogame (1)
Cassette Beasts (1)
Dead Island 2 (1)
Deliver Us Mars (1)
EA Sports WRC (1)
En Garde! (1)
F1 23 (1)
Final Fantasy XIV: Online (1)
Football Manager 2024 (1)
Fortnite (1)
Forza Horizon 5 (1)
Forza Motorsport (1)
Genshin Impact (1)
Goodbye Volcano High (1)
Horizon Call of the Mountain (1)
Lies of P (1)
Lords of the Fallen (1)
The Making of Katateka (1)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (1)
Mortal Kombat 1 (1)
No Man’s Sky (1)
Party Animals (1)
Planet of Lana (1)
POWERWASH SIMULATOR (1)
Sea of Stars (1)
Sea of Thieves (1)
Sonic Superstars (1)
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (1)
Tchia (1)
Terra Nil (1)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1)
Thirsty Suitors (1)
Tron: Identity (1)
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin (1)

Top 10s in four awards categories: